Here's your goddamned exclamation point!

My frustration and annoyance with tabloid-newspapers and other similar trash-newspapers grows by the day. They are filled with non-news that they report in a way that makes them sound like the most important piece of news in the known universe. Like _the_ news for today: "PARIS HILTON in Helsinki!". Is that REALLY interesting piece of news? Is it important? And why is the headline shouting at me? Why do they use all-caps?

Those caps and exclamation points are there to obviously make the news seems important. It's so important that they need to shout it at me. Well, excuse me, but what makes that particular piece of news so important? Why should I or anyone else care when some airheaded bimbo who is famous for being famous (really, has she ever really DONE anything notable?) is visiting Helsinki? And the sad thing is that there's about zillion idiots out there who do find that news really interesting and important...

Sure, the tabloids sometimes report on genuine news. But when they do so, they do it in a emotional way. They try to appeal to the feelings and emotions of the readers. Like during the Jokela Shooting they made huge headlines how the "principal tried to save the lives of the pupils" and was then shot and killed. We got articles about what the principal was like, what kind of family she had etc. etc. None of that was relevant to the actual news at all. Of course, the actual articles about the incident were filled with generalizations, errors, speculation and just plain crap. Stuff like "Why did the shooter do this? We might never know", despite the fact that he left behind a manifesto where he explained his twisted rationale. Tabloids said that "Should we blame computer games for this? Did he train using computer games?", when the shooter specifically said that his actions should not be blamed on games, movies or anything like that, and how everyone with a working brain will see that killing a person with a handgun is VERY different when compared to "killing" a bunch of pixels with a click of a mouse. But now, logic and facts never entered the equation when the tabloids smelled money.

It's time to draw a line in the sand. No more stupidity. We should expect more from the media.

One more hour....

Last week the Mrs. and I bought ourselves a new sofa. My old bachelor-era black leather-couch was donated to my in-laws. Today, they delivered the sofa, and me and the father in-law put it together. And now its just sitting in our living-room, looking oh so soft, comfortable and inviting. But we can't sit on it. Since the cushions are not leather, we treated them with this chemical that makes them resistant to dirt and spills. And it takes 2 hours for that chemical to dry. One hour gone, one hour left.

It just looks so comfortable...

Nice to meet me

The good doctor had this in her blog, so I naturally had to do it as well.

What is your occupation? The latest title my boss used to describe me was "IT Support Coordinator"
What colour are your socks right now? Black
What are you listening to right now? "Iankaikkinen", by Kotiteollisuus
What was the last thing that you ate? A banana
Can you drive a stick shift? It's the only way to drive
If you were a crayon, what colour would you be? Black
Last person you spoke to on the phone? My sister in-law
Do you like the person who sent this to you? Yes
How old are you today? 30
Favourite drink? Coffee
What is your favourite sport to watch? Ummmm, hockey
Have you ever dyed your hair? Dyed it violet once
Favourite food? Pizza
Last movie you watched? Only including movies watched in theater: Tali-Ihantala 1944
Favourite day of the year? Probably Midsummer
What do you do to vent anger? Curse
What was your favourite toy as a child? Lego
What is your favourite season? Summer
Hugs or kisses? Depends on the person
Cherry or blueberry? Cherry for the flavour, blueberry for the eating
Do you want your friends to email you back? Does not apply
Who is most likely to respond? To this test? Since I'm not going to mail it around: no idea
Who is least likely to respond? See above
Last vacation? Only including vacation-trips? Um, Budapest, Hungary.
When was the last time you cried? Around 2001 or so.
What is on the floor of your closet? I don't have a personal closet
Favourite smells? Garlic?
Who inspires you? Can't name any single person
What are you afraid of? Sudden death
Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? Cheese
Favourite car? German
Favorite cat breed? They are all cute in their own way
Number of keys on your key ring? 6 + USB-stick and an electronic key for the office
How many years at your current job? 6
Favourite day of the week? Friday
How many states have you lived in? Um, two?
What book (s) are you currently reading?Thinking of re-reading "The Watchmen"
Do you think you're funny? Those close to me have described my humour as "strange"

Arthur C. Clarke, 1917 - 2008

Looking back to see my future

Once in a while I run in to weird situation where my past somehow catches up with me. Earlier this year I was contacted in Facebook by this woman from Quebec, who gave me a link and asked "did you write this?". I checked the link, and it contained an idea about certain technology. I wrote it back in 2005.

Yesterday, something a bit similar happened. I was reading this article on Ars Technica. From there I followed a link to here, and there I discovered a link to this place. And what did I find there? Comments made by me over two years ago!

Gary Gygax 1938-2008

Thank you Gary for countless hours of entertainment, and helping me become an OK citizen of this planet. You will be missed.

Flight of The Conchords, part 2

Could this be the greatest moment in television-entertainment? It just might be.